Under existing law, each local education provider must administer the state assessments in math and English language arts to ninth-grade students and must administer a state-selected assessment to tenth-grade students. The bill repeals the requirement to administer the state assessment to ninth-grade students. Instead, local education providers must administer a state-selected ninth-grade assessment that is aligned with the ninth-grade content standards and the assessment administered to tenth-grade students. The department of education must ensure that, under the testing schedule, ninth-grade students take the state-selected assessment in the spring semester. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
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The bill amends the statutes relating to the early childhood leadership commission (commission) in the department of human services (department) as follows: Makes changes to the legislative declaration, mission, and duties of the commission to include consideration of families of pregnant women and children; Repeals the early childhood leadership commission fund. Changes the title of the person appointed to assist the department in fulfilling the duties of the commission from 'executive director' to 'director'; Removes the requirement that the director be compensated from money credited to the early childhood leadership commission fund, and instead requires that the director be compensated with federal funds or gift, grants, or donations, and not with money from the general fund; Permits the commission to seek, accept, and expend gifts, grants, and donations for the expenses of the commission; and Extends the repeal date and sunset review of the commission prior to its repeal from 2018 to 2023.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
The bill adds the definitions 'psychologically traumatic event' and 'serious bodily injury' to the workers' compensation statutes for the purposes of clarifying a worker's right to compensation for any claim of mental impairment.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill clarifies that a student who participates in the accelerating students through concurrent enrollment program, which allows the student to remain enrolled as a high school student while concurrently enrolling in postsecondary courses during the school year immediately following the student's twelfth-grade year, is counted in the enrolling school district's or institute charter school's graduation rate in the year in which the student completes the high school graduation requirements. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
The bill prohibits a carrier from requiring a covered person to undergo step therapy: When being treated for a terminal condition; or If the covered person has tried a step-therapy-required drug under a health benefit plan and the drug was discontinued by the manufacturer. A carrier that requires step therapy must have an override process for health care providers. 'Step therapy' is defined as a protocol that requires a covered person to use a prescription drug or sequence of prescription drugs, other than the drug that the covered person's health care provider recommends for the covered person's treatment, before the carrier provides coverage for the recommended drug. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill specifies that it is neither a conflict of interest nor a breach of fiduciary duty or the public trust for a local government official to serve on the board of directors of a nonprofit entity. A local government official who serves on the board of directors of a nonprofit entity shall publicly announce his or her relationship with the nonprofit entity before voting on a matter that provides a direct and substantial economic benefit to the nonprofit entity. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
Sunset Process - Senate Transportation Committee. Sections 7, 8, and 9 of the bill continue the motorcycle operator safety training program for 3 years, until 2020. Sections 1 to 5 transfer the program from the office of transportation safety in the department of transportation to the office of the chief of the state patrol in the department of public safety, effective January 1, 2018. Sections 5 and 6 make conforming amendments.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
The bill creates the innovative teacher preparation program (program) in the department of education (department). In implementing the program, the department will create a system to collect data concerning teacher preparation programs and create multiple pilot programs to support and investigate innovative approaches to teacher preparation and teacher induction, identify effective strategies, and share best practices among local education providers, alternative teacher programs, and institutions of higher education. The commissioner of education will convene a volunteer advisory committee that includes representatives from institutions of higher education, alternative teacher programs, and local education providers to assist the department in implementing the program. The department will share the data it collects and best practices it identifies through the program with local education providers, alternative teacher programs, and institutions of higher education. Beginning in January 2018, the department will prepare an annual report concerning implementation of the program, including reporting on the effectiveness of the pilot programs. The department must submit the report to the state board of education, the Colorado commission on higher education, the executive director of the department of higher education, the governor's office, and the education committees of the general assembly. The program will be funded by gifts, grants, and donations as well as any money the general assembly may appropriate to the program, which may include an appropriation from the state education fund. A local education provider, alternative teacher program, or institution of higher education may also make in-kind contributions for the operation of the pilot programs. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
For purposes of calculating a taxpayer's Colorado taxable income, current state law begins from a base of the taxpayer's federal taxable income and provides for various modifications to that base, including subtractions from federal taxable income (state income tax deductions) in amounts equal to the full amounts of both contributions made by a taxpayer to the qualified state tuition program established by collegeinvest and distributions of investment earnings taken from the plan. For income tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2018, section 2 of the bill modifies these state income tax deductions by making the percentages of the amounts of contributions or distributions allowed to be subtracted from a taxpayer's taxable income dependent upon the amount of the taxpayer's federal adjusted gross income as follows: 200% of the amounts of contributions or distributions for a taxpayer whose federal adjusted gross income is less than $100,000; 100% of the amounts of contributions or distributions for a taxpayer whose federal adjusted gross income is $100,000 or more but less than $200,000; 50% of the amounts of contributions or distributions for a taxpayer whose federal adjusted gross income is $200,000 or more but less than $500,000; and 25% of the amounts of contributions or distributions for a taxpayer whose federal adjusted gross income is $500,000 or more. For income tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2018, section 3 allows refundable state income tax credits for teaching or student teaching in rural schools as follows: A teacher who has graduated from an educator preparation program approved by the Colorado commission on higher education may claim a credit, in a specified amount that increases each year, for each of the first 5 years that the teacher teaches in one or more rural schools; and A student teacher who is a student in an educator preparation program approved by the Colorado commission on higher education and has worked as a student teacher in one or more rural schools for at least a specified number of days during an academic year may claim a one-time credit up to a specified maximum amount against tuition and fees paid for the educator preparation program. To ensure that the credits are allowed only to qualified rural teachers and student teachers who are eligible for the credits, the department of education must coordinate with and annually submit a list of such teachers and student teachers to the department of revenue. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
The bill requires the transportation legislation review committee to meet at least once together with the capital development committee in the course of the committees' regular business to discuss a plan to address critical statewide infrastructure needs and how such critical needs should be funded. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)